michellebookaddict's Reviews (822)

5★ and a favorite ♥

Pure Joy was, well, a pure joy to read (couldn't help myself there lol). I'm already a big dog lover. Big time. My little 12 pound poodle (13 if her hair is a little too long) is very very spoiled. She has a raincoat and won't go in the rain without it. Danielle Steel would've laughed at me for that, but turns out she spoils her 2 pound Teacup Chihuahua, Minnie Mouse. So while she mentions the joy she's found in owning all her excessive dogs, my dog Peanut was right by me and all my other dogs I've had in my thoughts. So the book has brought me some smiles and some tears too.

First, Danielle mentions that she has 9 kids. And along with her 9 kids, at one point, her family had 10 dogs and a pig. The most dogs I had at one point was 2 dogs, so Danielle's life sounds like a circus to me (my mom's parent's had 8 kids, so I'm used to big families). But I'm glad she and her family is able to have so many dogs (she currently has 4 griffs and the teacup chihuahua).

It was fun hearing about a lot of the dogs Danielle and her family and friends have (and had). Her description of falling in love with a chihuahua was sweet and had me thinking of all the dogs I love of course. And a lot of Danielle's experiences she mentions are used as advice and lessons on owning a pet. The main lesson is that owning a pet can bring you joy and love (especially if you love that pet). And it doesn't matter what size they are.

A good satire cookbook to the HBO show True Blood. Recipes start of with drinks and ends with deserts. But as the show has various different lifestyles, the recipes are broken down to those groups. I liked how the characters talked about each recipe and what made them special for them. I've watched a few episodes, so there was some characters who I didn't know. There is a bit of spoiler when reading these character's short stories.

Some of the recipes are truly True Blood new - like how to make the famous Tru Blood drink. Others are old recipes slapped on with a True Blood name, like Gran's Sweet Lemonade. But theyall sound quite delicious.

The various pictures of the food looked good. And the pictures of the cast and set was a nice touch.

I'll definitely be showing this to my sisters. They're bigger True Blood fans than I am. And their friend's bar was used in season 1 as Fangtasia. They later created their own set, but used Alex's Bar in Long Beach, Ca. as their inspiration. Nothing much was changed at that bar and the few sets they added are still there.
I'll be showing my sisters this book also for the pictures of Alex's Bar in the cookbook.

2014.
Mr. Darcy Forever by Victoria Connelly 3★
(Austen Addicts: Book 3)

This is the third Austen Addicts book in the series. I read the previous book Dreaming of Mr. Darcy and liked it. I attempted at reading this in 2013. But I wasn't enjoying it and decided to temporarily set it aside for later. I do have a habit of reading a chapter or two and then stopping to read something else. But I do try to get back to the book.

I had read about 25% of Mr. Darcy Forever before stopping though. And now that I got back to reading it, I recall why. There was a character that I just didn't like (and still didn't like so much at the end). And not only does this book have two points of views (the sisters), but it also jumps around in timeline too. So that didn't help me get into the book as much as the 2nd book in the series did.
But I kept with the story and luckily it picked up. Lots of drama and mishaps but it was an enjoyable ending.

The story line is a good one. About two sisters that were once very close who are both going to an annual Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England. And in between the two sister's point of views, the story moves back 3 years to their time spent at Barton Cottage, in Devon, England. Connelly's description of the festival and the house had me wishing I could go there. Once I got over the long beginning and my dislike of one of the sisters (Sarah) the story picked up (I think about 35% into the book). After that there was a lot of festival events and lots of drama (like Mia slapping someone at the Pump Room restaurant).

It's true that this book read like a soup opera story (drama and nagging best friend looking for gossip). There was some romance, but I felt it wax more an after thought as there wasn't that much. Granted the festival only happens for a few days over the weekend, but there could've been more development for the character's romance. I did like the interaction between Mus Castle and Gabe Sanders, but I would've loved to see more between them. And then the ending was wrapped up very quickly but I did like how it happened. I also loved Gabe and the Mr. Darcy wet t-shirt contest.

May 2008, 3 stars

A slow paced read. I don't recall the book too much because I read it almost 4 years ago. I borrowed the hardcover from the library, when I still actually went to libraries to borrow the books in paper formats. I remember contrasting it with the movie "Hope Floats" - with the movie being the superior one.